A piece of paper decorated with an archway supported by two columns and populated by three cherubs and other decorations, surrounded by a border of Hebrew text; the rest of the paper is also filled with text in Hebrew.

Ketubbah
1770
Dorot Jewish Division

Ketubbah

The ketubbah, the Jewish wedding contract, outlines the legal and financial responsibilities of a husband to his wife. Signed by witnesses, the document is typically hung prominently in a couple’s home, since Jewish law forbids a couple from cohabitating if their ketubbah is lost or destroyed. This particular contract was produced in 1770 in Reggio Emilia, a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The ketubbah was signed on Friday, 11 Tevet, 5531 [December 28, 1770] by a groom, Binyamin Aviad ben Elyakim Levi Mortara, and his bride, Gentilah Peseleh bat Binyamin Yaakov Sanguineti. The bride’s family provided a dowry of 20 litron of pure silver. The text of the ketubbah is placed within a monumental arch with three putti holding decorative vases, popular elements of the Italian Renaissance tradition. The frame surrounding the arch consists of the text of “Eshet Hayil” (“Woman of Valor’’), a Biblical poem from Proverbs praising the ideal wife.

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